Nature

A Bumble Bee Named Buzz

/ Jodi / 57 Comments
Buzz the Bumble Bee 8x10 Watercolor 140lb Saunders Cold Press

Buzz the Bumble Bee 8×10 Watercolor 140lb Saunders Cold Press

A Bumble Bee Named Buzz.

On the edge of a meadow lives a bumble bee named Buzz.
He lives near his aunt and his uncle and his cuz.

Aunt Sally, Uncle Sam, and Sherman they was.
They love Buzz more than any other in Americas.

Sherman and Buzz love to play and dance because
It is what all the bumble bees in the meadow does.

So if you see dancing bees and think your eyes are a fuzz,
don’t be surprised if it’s Sherman and Buzz.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

This is just one of a series of fun animal watercolor paintings and rhymes I am pursuing.

See the others:
A Rare Hare with Flare
A Duck Named Chuck
A Fawn at Dawn
Rooty the Rooster
A Precocious Pink Pig  
Hal the Colorful Cow
A Mouse named Klaus
Pam the Lamb
An Otterly Awesome Otter
Earl the Squirrel
Adele the Gazelle
A Snail’s Tale
Chippy the Chipmunk
Hedy the Hedgehog

#WorldWatercolorMonth

Watercolors Used:  Daniel Smith Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Indigo, Perylene Violet, Permanent Rose, Olive Green, Perylene Green.

Difficult Paths

/ Jodi / 33 Comments
Scottsdale, AZ - July, 2017

Scottsdale, AZ – July, 2017

Difficult Paths.

Difficult paths
often lead to
beautiful destinations.

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

On a recent trip to Arizona, I loved snapping shots of the beautiful desert scenery.  Little did I know how sharp and painful beautiful cactus plants are when you rub up against them too close………. In Steve Erkel voice….. “Did I do that????”  Yep!  Yep I did!

Beauty in the Desert

/ Jodi / 43 Comments

Pink Flowering Cactus Watercolor - Beauty in the Desert - 5x7 140lb Arches Cold Press

Pink Flowering Cactus Watercolor – Beauty in the Desert – 5×7 140lb Arches Cold Press

Pink Flowering Cactus Watercolor – Beauty in the Desert.

On our recent trip to Arizona, I was really blown away by the beauty in the desert.

I’ve heard some say it is brown and dry and “ugly.”  I disagree.

Though it is so very different from the lush green that people who live in the Eastern U.S. are accustomed to, there is so much beauty in the foliage and the terrain.

Many of the cacti were blooming when we were there, and I was so drawn to the pink flowering ones.

Here is my version of Beauty in the Desert – a pink flowering cactus.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

#McKinneyX2Designs ETSY Shop

Paints used:  Rembrandt Quinacridone Rose, Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold, Olive Green, and Perylene Green.

Red Rock Mountains of Sedona

/ Jodi / 56 Comments

Last week, Hubby and I had the great privilege of traveling approximately 2,000 miles across the U.S. to visit a beautiful area of our country far different from the area we live in – the desert Southwest of Scottsdale and Sedona, Arizona.

A highlight of our trip was sightseeing the beautiful Red Rock Mountains of Sedona.  I took quite a few pics, but haven’t had much time to look at yet since we’ve just returned.  Here is one I really like, but even it doesn’t compare to the enormity, the vastness, and the beauty of experiencing this beautiful corner of the world in person.

The rocks in Sedona are a deep, rich, orange-red like no others around.  Apparently, they are comprised of sediment layers deposited over many millions of years*. The shale foundation is the remainder of ancient swamp lands. Other layers are the remainder of an ancient beachfront, known as the “Schnebly Hill Formation,” that deposited iron about 275 million years ago. The Coconino sandstone layer was formed at a time when Sahara-like dunes covered the majority of the Western US.  The Kaibab limestone layer was deposited when a warm shallow sea covered the area about 250 million years ago.

The Red Rocks we see today were formed several million years ago when the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau that created the Grand Canyon also caused water to carve out Sedona’s red rock, cake-like layers. Currently, Sedona is considered to be a part of the Colorado Plateau and is in the process of making mountains, raising an average of one inch every 60-80 years!

The temperatures during our one-week visit ranged between a  low of 102 to a high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit!  Whoooowheee it was hot!  It was a different kind of hot than we are used to in the Eastern part of the U.S., however, as the humidity levels were only around 10% as compared to our typical 50-100%, so it was much more pleasant.  (Especially when in the pool with a frozen margarita!)

This is a place in the U.S. that anyone who can, should experience!

Thanks for the memories Sedona!
I look forward to creating some paintings from your beautiful inspiration!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

P.S. Thanks Jayme and Ryan for being our gracious tour guides!  ❤

* https://redrockscenicbyway.com/

Blossom through the Darkness

/ Jodi / 41 Comments
Orange Begonia - July, 2017 - Mars, PA

Orange Begonia – July, 2017 – Mars, PA

We don’t always grow when things are easy,
We don’t always blossom when the sun is bright.

Grow through the challenges.
Blossom through the darkness.

Life your life as fully and courageously and boldly as you can.
It’s your opportunity to bloom!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  Thanks, Jan, for these beautiful flowers, they are still vibrantly blossoming!

Stars Don’t Only Shine at Night

/ Jodi / 24 Comments
Purple Petunias

Purple Petunias

Stars don’t only shine at night.

Attract what you expect.
Reflect what you desire.
Become what you respect.
Mirror what you admire.

Author Unknown
InspirationQuotesMagazine.com

Shine on Stars…
Shine on!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Morning is Worth Waking up to

/ Jodi / 40 Comments
Early Morning Front Yard - Mars, PA - June, 2017

Early Morning Front Yard – Mars, PA – June, 2017

Morning is worth waking up to…

When the warmth of the sun casts its golden magic,
and the shadows of the awakening trees begin dancing.

The cool dew is refreshingly invigorating on bare feet in the grass,
and the light breeze of the night still lingers.

The chirping birds are rejoicing, drenched with enthusiasm,
soaring and fluttering with the butterflies and the bees.

Steaming dark roast coffee is poured and inhaled,
lightened with Italian sweet cream, and then sipped with pleasure.

Sleepy, swollen eyes begrudgingly awaken and brighten.
It’s time to embrace the unending number of possibilities of a brand new day.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

If being in the second half of life means Sunday mornings are even more glorious than Saturday nights, I’ll take it!

Into the Woods

/ Jodi / 47 Comments
Into the Woods in our Backyard June 25, 2017 Mars, PA

Into the Woods in our Backyard June 25, 2017 Mars, PA

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Yesterday was one of those
most amazingly glorious
Summer Sundays.

No agenda,
bright sunshine,
cool breeze.

I woke early,
sipped my coffee on the deck
with the birds and the rising sun.

I made old-fashioned macaroni salad
to chill and be just right
to accompany grilled burgers for dinner.

I took my watercolors
out onto the patio,
and I painted for hours.

And when it was time to move a bit,
Charlie and I headed to the woods
in our backyard.

We hiked until we got lost,
and then we found our way out through a neighbor’s backyard
on an intersecting street to ours.

It was a sauntering walk
with stops to breathe it all in, smell the fresh air,
and commune with nature.

The woods are a great place
to learn how truly small you
and your problems really are.

It’s a place to be small,
but come out feeling bigger
and better and complete.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*Transient

Sometimes I Wonder

/ Jodi / 19 Comments
Goldfinch and Grosbeak at the feeder - Mars, PA - June, 2017

Goldfinch and Grosbeak at the feeder – Mars, PA – June, 2017

Sometimes
I wonder
how you put up
with me.
Then I remember,
oh I put up with you.
So we’re even.

Author unknown

Lovingly dedicated to a guy I call “Merv.”
He calls me “Gert.”
I put up with him.
He puts up with me.
Let’s do it until eternity. ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

How do you say “Thank You?”

/ Jodi / 37 Comments
Crooked Creek, Ford City, PA - June, 2017

Crooked Creek, Ford City, PA – June, 2017

How do you say “Thank You”
for sunshine or health…
for clear days or gentle rains…
for happiness, joy or love?

You say it by sharing
what you have.
You say it by making
the world a better place in which to live.

-Thomas D. Willhite

How do YOU say “Thank You?”

I say it by trying to share something small every day
in this tiny little platform that is mine
to give to the world
a little bit of happiness…
a little bit of joy…
a little bit of love.

My “Thank You” might be
a photograph,
or a painting,
or a craft or DIY idea.

It might be a favorite cherished
or newly discovered recipe.
It might be a verse
or a quote or a story.

But it is my “Thank You”
for sunshine and health…
for clear days and gentle rains…
for happiness, joy, and love.

It is my gift.
It is my little life.
It is my creative journey…
at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*Focus